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By Matthew Rees

Food and Health Fact #110: Junk food consumption among American children

Find all previously published facts here.

Two-thirds of the total calories consumed by American children and adolescents come from ultra-processed foods (a perfumed term for “junk food”). That’s according to a study published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study looked at consumption trends from 1999-2018 and found that the biggest increase in ultra-processed consumption came from ready-to-eat (or ready-to-heat) concoctions such as frozen pizza, rising from 2.2 percent of total calories consumed to 11.2 percent. Black children had the largest reported increase in consumption (10.3 percent), followed by Mexican-Americans (7.6 percent) and whites (5.2 percent). There were no reported differences based on parental education or family income.

A press release from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University, which is home to the researchers who conducted the study, characterized ultra-processed food as “often high in added sugar, sodium, and carbohydrates, and low in fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.” The release also noted that these foods “typically contain added sugars, hydrogenated oils, and flavor enhancers. Examples include packaged sweet snacks and desserts, sugary breakfast cereals, French fries, fast food burgers, and some lunchmeats such as bologna and salami. When consumed in excess, these foods are linked with diabetes, obesity, and other serious medical conditions, such as certain cancers.”